Yet More Leaks Found in the Dakota Access Pipeline

Problems with the Dakota Access pipeline continue to crop up - including yet more leaks.

After two separate leaks were discovered in March, yet another set of leaks was discovered in April - proving yet again that no matter how many times the builders say that the pipeline is safe, it clearly isn't.

Two barrels worth of oil - or 84 gallons - spilled due to a leaky flange near Watford City on March 3rd. A leak of half a barrel (20 gallons) happened March 5th in Mercer County. Those spills were reported by the North Dakota state Health Department and federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, respectively.

Tribal leaders and attorneys say the leaks bolster their demands for further environmental review of the pipeline. "We have always said it is not a matter of it, but when," tribal attorney Jan Hasselman said after the South Dakota leak. "Pipelines spill and leak. It's just a fact."

The leaks are especially important as crews are currently preparing the $3.8 billion pipeline for operation.

The Associated Press reached out to Texas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners for comment Monday. The company maintains the pipeline is safe, but the Cheyenne River, Standing Rock, Yankton and Oglala Sioux tribes in the Dakotas fear environmental harm and are fighting in federal court, hoping to convince a judge to shut down the line.

The Dakota Access pipeline will move North Dakota oil 1,200 miles through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution point in Illinois. ETP plans to begin commercial operations June 1.

Oh - in most cases, we won't even hear about the spills. As North Dakota Environmental Health Chief Dave Glatt notes, the Health Department doesn't normally notify the public unless the oil spills are larger than 150 gallons.

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Yet More Leaks Found in the Dakota Access Pipeline
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